While Agricola is not a favorite game of mine, I will say that playing with pimped components can make it less dry. Eurogames seem to have this issue more than others where immersing yourself into the story the game develops is harder due to the multiple layers of abstraction and generally dull components. Honestly, Carcassonne came out 14 years ago and at least tried to capture some theme by using Meeples for components. New Eurogames coming out with dull wooden blocks is such a crime.

Lords of Waterdeep is a great game but also came with exceedingly dull pieces. Luckily, a BGG user, Danny Perello, made these awesome bits for the game:

A friend of mine has the original wooden versions from Danny and they are a great addition to the game. It was interesting how this little change in the game bit affected how our group talked during the game. Previously, we broke into a habit of just asking for “white” or “orange” cubes, thereby killing all sense of theme or story to go with the game. The game because a number crunching game and, while still fun, it didn’t really feel like anything more than a complete abstraction. The addition of DnDeeples, as they are known, started changing the way players were requesting resources. Soon, “I need two white and one purple” became “here are two priests and one wizard.” It didn’t completely replace the vocabulary but even some of the holdout players will ask for a “couple of white dudes and an orange guy.” Baby steps I guess.

Back to the Treasure Chest Kickstarter, I plan on picking up a set for my favorite Euro: Kingsburg. I’ve been looking for a set of nice wooden bits for that game and it looks like this one fits the bill quite nicely. The Kickstarter ends in 3 days so you’ll want to act fast if this is something you’re interested in.